Dutch Beer

When you think of Dutch beer such famous brewers as Amstel and Heineken come to mind. Beer brewing was introduced in Holland in Middle Ages and since then each Dutch city had a brewery.

In the 15th century Amsterdam has already been a brewing center and the amount of breweries had been growing steadily in the whole country. By the 17th century there were 700 of them because of the huge demand for beer not only for drinking but for cooking as well.

The majority of Dutch places for drinking beer are brown cafes or in Dutch called “bruine kroegen” scattered throughout the country. The ceiling and the walls here are brown. The most served brands are usually Belgian and Dutch. Except for Heineken and Amstel famous Dutch brands include: Breda, Grolsch, Skol, Brandt and others.

In Amsterdam anyone can visit the Heineken museum which is an entertaining tour about the whole process of beer brewing. The Heineken website claims it to be not only the museum but the whole experience. Because the time spend here is unforgettable, you will even have a chance to make your own bottle of beer. Tickets can be purchased both at the desk and online. The price for online tickets is a bit cheaper which is 15 EURO and the biggest advantage is that you don’t have to wait at the desk.

It is a well-known fact that the Dutch are huge fans of bikes. There are even more bikes than people in Holland because the majority of citizens have two of them. This is the most popular way of transportation here and there are special routs for cyclists so it is absolutely safe. Experiencing Holland by bike is a great opportunity to feel yourself as a local in this country, so don’t waste time and rent a bike as soon as you arrive to Holland. It is not uncommon to see an office worker in a super expensive suite paddling to work or a grandmother with packets from the store heading home. But for the Dutch it is not a limit. They seem to have managed to combine their two passions: beer and bikes and created a Beer-Bike bar.

Such kind of bar can feet from 10 up to 19 clients and is powered by pedaling. Even though it is in some way dangerous the Dutch don’t seem to have any problems with it maybe because there are only 30 liters available. Such an unusual way of entertainment is becoming more and more popular among both men and women.